Creating a Community of Difference

Carolyn M. Shields

Staying focused on relationships, understanding, and dialogue can help leaders deliver academic excellence and social justice to all students.

I sat in the principal's office while she described some of the challenges of Southside School.1
Located in the lower mainland area of British Columbia, it had the highest poverty and transiency rates in the district. Ninety-seven percent of the students lived in low-rent apartments and more than half spoke a home language other than English. Marlene, the principal, suddenly added, “I almost forgot—a parent assaulted a student today; I'm sorry, but we may be interrupted if the police officer arrives.”

I reflected on her words and on some of the other challenges I'd learned about over the course of my research—the press for accountability, market forces, high-stakes testing, e-learning, growing diversity, changing enrollment patterns, higher expectations for parental participation—and I was reminded of the complex role of the education leader. The following day, a new principal asked me, “How do education leaders keep from losing their way?”

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